This invention relates to computer discussion group and bulletin board, systems. Such systems permit users to post messages expressing points of view for viewing by others and to reply to messages posted by others. The invention has particular application to Internet or intranet news groups and discussion groups.
Computer discussion groups are well known. In such discussion groups a user can start a discussion by posting a message. The message may ask a question, express a point of view, or otherwise provide fruit for further discussion. Other users can post reply messages in reply to the message. A single message may provoke numerous reply messages. On the Internet, news groups are hosted on servers. Users run suitable client software, which may be called xe2x80x9cnews group readerxe2x80x9d software on their computers. The client software facilitates reading the contents of news groups, posting reply messages to previously posted messages and posting messages to start new threads.
Existing news groups, discussion groups and bulletin boards have linear structures. A xe2x80x9cthreadxe2x80x9d consists of a set of reply messages to the original message and a sequence of replies to the reply messages. Many types of news group reader software will sort messages in a news group into threads and will arrange links to the various messages so that a user can tell by viewing the links something about the sequence in which the messages were posted and which messages are replies to which other messages.
A disadvantage of existing news group reader software is that a user must view each message in a thread in order to understand the positions taken by the authors of the different messages.
The Internet has spawned a number of experiments in direct democracy. Various Internet web sites have been set up for the purpose of polling public opinion, whether on the subject of politics, consumer goods or other topics. Such sites typically provide users with the opportunity to select the one of two or more prepared statements which most closely matches the user""s opinion on the topic at hand. A counter simply counts up the number of times each statement is selected. Such polls suffer from the disadvantages that the questions are pre-defined and users are forced to select one of several statements without having an opportunity to explain their positions.
A problem with Internet discussion groups is that users can post messages under pseudonyms. Therefore it is not always possible to know whether a point of view expressed in a posted message is reliable. Even worse, an Internet user can post messages which purport to be from someone else, for example a trusted public figure.
There is a need for a system which permits users of computer networks, whether those computer networks are global in nature or more localized, to better exchange ideas. There is a particular need for systems which permit users to know whether they can be confident that a posted message was really posted by the person listed as its author or whether the posted message is unverified, or even unverifiable, and could have been posted by anyone at all.
This invention provides systems for operating computer facilitated discussion groups which enable a user who posts a message to specify a group of two or more categories for sorting replies to the message. When a second user replies to a message then the second user chooses one category from the group of categories to be associated with the reply. When a user displays a message and a thread of replies to the message then the system can display the reply messages in a manner which visually distinguishes reply messages in one category from reply messages in other categories. This permits a user to understand the point of view from which a reply message is posted without needing to read the reply message itself. The system can also compute the number of reply messages associated with each category.
Preferred aspects of the invention associate verification information with each posted message. The verification information preferably specifies whether the message is unverifiable, verifiable or verified. A user can choose whether to view all messages, only verified and verifiable messages, or only verified messages. This permits the user to selectively view only messages for which the identity of the author is known, or can be discovered. Such messages are likely to be more reliable than messages posted by completely anonymous authors.
Further aspects and advantages of the invention are described below.